1 hurt after suspected tornado damages Heber-Overgaard

Half hour it hit, power went out, tremendous thunder, lightning, hail, wind started happening, everything went dead. Well, scary moments for residents that live in the Heber-Overgard area from a suspected tornado that left a swath of destruction through the area. We're talking trees uprooted, property damage, and some residents say they didn't get a severe weather alert until after the storm had already hit. Now the community is left picking up the pieces as officials work to assess the damage and determine exactly what happened in that area. Fox 10's Taylor Wertz is live in the Heber-Overgard area with the latest from officials. Good afternoon, Taylor. Ty and Danielle, that rain clearly really starting to come down right now. It started about 10 minutes ago, but the most important update we have from this community today is that there were no serious injuries or deaths. So this community really counting their blessings about that this morning. Officials are calling this a suspected tornado, but we know that the National Weather Service is on its way here so they can begin their assessment to confirm that. But you can just take a look around this place and see how much damage there was. This spot right here appears to be the spot where there was once a shed that is now all the way over here on top of this downed tree completely flipped over the roof of it torn off and you can see the contents of it inside. We're hoping to talk to the homeowner in just a few minutes. But while everyone is so grateful that they're okay, Heber-Overgard Fire Chief Jason Payne says one person was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. That person was actually on a bike when the storm hit and was thrown off of it. There is plenty of damage throughout this community though, as you can see in our video. So Payne says today's goal is primarily damage assessment of homes, roads, and any potential hazards. We're told that the power was restored very quickly early this morning for residents, but they are still working on downed power lines today. The Navajo Board of Supervisors has issued a declaration of emergency on the local level, which should help trigger resources from state and federal agencies. We've heard from a lot of people here today, though, who say, as you mentioned, they got that tornado alert only a minute or so before the storm hit, so that is something many of them do have questions about. Chief Payne described for us what it was like for him when the storm hit last night. I live in close proximity to where this hit and I was actually at home and when the alert started coming in, I went on my back patio and it just got silent and then all of a sudden it was a freight train. We don't get tornadoes in Heber-Overgard. We don't even really get tornadoes here in Arizona that do damage. So, once you see all the damage that's out there and how lucky we are that there are no fatalities or no serious injuries, I'm just very thankful for that. Again, everyone just so thankful that no one was seriously hurt, but the damage is vast. We've been going around all day seeing different things, downed trees, flipped trees, roofs, all of that. We hope to talk with more neighbors as the day goes on. For anyone who does need shelter, we're told that Capps Middle School is open and available for you. We will be here throughout the day and we'll bring you the latest at 4 and 5 o'clock tonight. Live in Navajo County, Taylor Wertz, Fox 10 News.